Kenya is doing more to attract more safari park visitors, wiping the US$50 visa fee for children under 16 and capping $90 safari park fees at $60 with a removal of VAT charges.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the new incentives at the opening of Kenya’s first luxury yachting marina (English Point Marina) in Mombasa, detailing various initiatives that include the $11.7 million Charter Incentive Scheme (CIS).
The CIS means that airlines that travel to Mombasa and Malindi, on Kenya’s coast, will now be able to land without any cost. Charter airlines will also be further incentivised with a new $30 subsidy for every passenger brought to the region. The scheme will continue until June 30, 2018.
The wiping of visa fees for children will take effect February 1, and follows on from last year’s simplified e-visa process. That cost reduction, combined with the reduction of fees for Kenya Wildlife Service parks, means that Kenyan safaris just got a lot cheaper for families, who will also benefit from a range of other improvements.
Kenyatta also detailed coastal infrastructure improvements to ease transport around coastal destinations, and mentioned the planned expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and Malindi’s local airport, in order to deal with increased numbers of visitors.
“We continue to invest heavily in our infrastructure in the knowledge that quality roads and services are critical to the socio-economic transformation that we all desire,” said President Kenyatta. “International governments recognise that security here has vastly improved and there is much to be gained by partnering with Kenya and the East Africa region. We must not allow that momentum to be lost,” he added, thanking the governments of the US, UK and France.